http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08006/847083-85.stm
By Anya Sostek
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
January 06, 2008
A hacker from China successfully penetrated Pennsylvania's state
government Web site Friday, but did not spread a virus or compromise
citizen data.
"We know that there was no damage done," said Mia DeVane, spokeswoman
for the Governor's Office of Administration, which oversees information
technology.
Friday morning, four state government departments received indications
of a security problem. Rather than limit the response to just those
departments -- Education, Labor and Industry, Lottery and Military and
Veteran's Affairs -- the state shut down its entire Web site as a
precautionary measure.
The Web site was down from about 9:30 a.m. to about 5 p.m. on Friday,
said Ms. DeVane.
The greatest response from those unable to access the Web site came from
people looking for Department of Agriculture information about the
Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, which opened yesterday.
An investigation traced the hacker to a domain registered in China, said
Ms. DeVane, noting that the hacker was attempting to spread a virus.
Pennsylvania's Internet security is well regarded, she said, and the
state recently won an award from the National Association of State Chief
Information Officers for its approach to information security and
privacy.
The state also spent part of Friday informing other states about the
threat so they could protect their systems.
"We have an excellent security program and that's how we were able to
get an early detection of a hacker getting in the back door," said Ms.
DeVane.
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